This is a detailed biography of arguably one of the best film actors who ever graced the cinema. Everything I have read about him in the past was all in the context of the great love story with Katharine Hepburn. But he had a life before and during his relationship with Ms. Hepburn that was quite complicated. He was married for more than 40 years to Louise Treadwell Tracy. I had been under the impression that Ms. Hepburn broke up the marriage. The marriage was kaput a good ten years before he met Ms. Hepburn, but he still stayed married all his life. I did not realize that his wife was a much admired stage actress. I did realize that she (with his funding) started the John Tracy school for the Deaf.

I learned a lot from reading this book. I ended up admiring Tracy a lot more than I did before. I want to see more of his movies. I have only seen a couple he made with Jean Harlow and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. I intend to see more.

anyone who wants to know the story, not from the Katharine Hepburn point of view. She is dealt with rather harshly here, but there is no glossing over.

the fact that Mr. Tracy did not take his "acting" style very seriously. He has a lot of Irish humor and wit.

the ending. It made me cry, having seen Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. It made me feel very sad for the gentleman I saw in that movie when I was a wee calf.

like I finally know the real story.

did a thorough job of research with almost too much detail. Some of it is a bit tedious, but I feel like I really know Spencer Tracy in a way I never did before. Katharine Hepburn was a big part of his later life, but his life was much more than just their relationship.

if you like old movies, Spencer Tracy is the gold standard of acting. I intend to see a lot more of his films. I learned a lot and a lot of assumptions I had held for many years were blown apart.

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Created Nov 24, 2012 at 4:59pm • Submit your own review...